Doomadgee

The Queensland Government last night scrambled to fix an extraordinary bungle which resulted in the premature announcement that four mayors and a councillor had been suspended, hours before new laws had been signed off by the Governor.

A remote Aboriginal council in Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria has forced the closure of the local Police Citizens Youth Club branch after terminating the lease of the building in which the organisation was run.

Each year, indigenous rangers and their families travel to remote beaches north of Doomadgee, to protect marine turtles and hold knowledge transfer sessions to help inspire the next generation of marine leaders.

Some homes in the community of Borroloola on the Gulf of Carpentaria have been evacuated with 74 residents sheltering elsewhere, as they wait for Cyclone Alfred to make landfall about sunrise on Tuesday.